Jeff Denham, a Republican elected in 2010, is a vocal and vigilant fiscal conservative who has developed a relatively unglamorous sub-specialty—ensuring that federal office space is being used efficiently. He also has drawn on his background as an Air Force veteran and farmer to work on military and agricultural issues. Read More

Jeff Denham, a Republican elected in 2010, is a vocal and vigilant fiscal conservative who has developed a relatively unglamorous sub-specialty—ensuring that federal office space is being used efficiently. He also has drawn on his background as an Air Force veteran and farmer to work on military and agricultural issues.

Denham was born near Los Angeles and lived in Indiana for five years, but he spent most of his childhood in the Northern California town of Pescadero. His parents were just 17 and 18 years old when he was born. His mother worked at car dealerships, and his father was at various times a farmer, a construction worker, and a meat-cutter. His parents divorced when he was in high school, and Denham spent much of his time at his grandparents’ home. His grandfather served in World War II and the Korean War before joining the Los Angeles Police Department. At age 17, Denham enlisted in the Air Force himself and was on active duty for three-and-a-half years and in the Air Force Reserve for more than a dozen. He was a crew chief, preparing and maintaining aircraft such as F-4 fighter jets and C-5 transport planes.

After transitioning to the Reserve, Denham attended community college and then transferred to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he was active in the College Republicans and received a bachelor’s degree in political science. During the Persian Gulf War, he was called to active duty and worked on an air base in Saudi Arabia. He also maintained aircrafts involved in the peacekeeping mission in Somalia in 1992. Back home after his service, Denham became the manager of a packaged salad company, and in 1998, he founded his own business, Denham Plastics, an agricultural container supply firm. In 2004, he bought a ranch in Merced County, where he grows almonds.

Denham first ran for public office in 2000, losing a bid for the California Assembly. Two years later, he ran for the state Senate and eked out a victory in a district where Democrats held a 12-point registration advantage. His roommate for several years in Sacramento was Kevin McCarthy, now the House majority whip. As a state legislator, Denham sponsored a bill that would have required convicted pedophiles to wear electronic tracking devices for their entire lives. In 2007, during one of California’s numerous budget crises, Democrats needed Republican support to approve a budget. Because of the makeup of Denham’s district, Democratic leaders hoped that he would agree to a compromise that included spending cuts and tax increases to balance the state’s books. Denham refused, and as a result, Democratic Senate Leader Don Perata organized a recall campaign against him. The petition drive acquired sufficient signatures to qualify for the ballot in June 2008, but a resounding 75% of district voters chose not to recall Denham.

In December 2009, Republican Rep. George Radanovich announced he would retire at the end of the term to care for his ailing wife. He called Denham shortly before Christmas and asked him to run. Denham did not have a clear path to Congress, however. The rare open congressional seat also drew former Rep. Richard Pombo and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson into the 2010 primary. Pombo had been ousted from the neighboring 11th District by Democrat Jerry McNerney in 2006. His primary opponents criticized Denham for flying on a corporate jet with Republican strategist Karl Rove, a possible violation of federal election law, and for his ties to an Indian tribe that sponsored ads attacking his opponents. But with strong fundraising and the support of the popular Radanovich, Denham won the primary with 36%, ahead of Patterson, who finished with 31%. Pombo placed third with 21%. In the general election, Denham easily defeated Democrat Loraine Goodwin, a physician, 65% to 35%.

In the House, Denham got off to a shaky start when he went against new Republican Speaker John Boehner’s admonition to keep GOP inaugural celebrations austere, throwing a $2,500-a-person fundraiser featuring country singer LeAnn Rimes. But he was given a seat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and, in recognition of his state legislative experience, got the chairmanship of its subcommittee on economic development, public buildings and emergency management.

In 2012, Denham got the House to create a commission to study whether federal offices were being used efficiently. He fought, unsuccessfully, to block plans to build a new $400 million courthouse in Los Angeles that was a priority for other California delegation members, and he criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission for leasing of 900,000 square feet of space, which he said was unneeded and cost the taxpayers $556 million. After the SEC’s inspector general indicated the contract violated federal rules because it resulted from a noncompetitive bid, Denham and Washington, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton wrote legislation preventing the agency from leasing property independently. He also got a bill into law to reduce veteran unemployment by streamlining the federal job certification process.

In his first bid for reelection in 2012, Denham finished first with 49% of the vote in the state’s all-party primary, and then faced Democrat Jose Hernandez, a former astronaut, in the general. During the campaign, Politico reported that Denham was one of the House Republicans who went swimming in the Sea of Galilee on a trip to Israel in 2011. And Hernandez criticized him for using taxpayers’ money to stay in hotels near the district. Denham accused Hernandez of carpet bagging, since he had lived in Houston during the years he worked at NASA. The race tightened as Election Day drew nearer, but Denham pulled off a 53%-47% win.

Jeff Denham Votes and Bills

National Journal’s rating system is an objective method of analyzing voting.
The liberal score means that the lawmaker’s votes were more liberal than that percentage of his colleagues’ votes.
The conservative score means his votes were more conservative than that percentage of his colleagues’ votes.
The composite score is an average of a lawmaker’s six issue-based scores.
See all NJ Voting

More Liberal

More Conservative

2013

2012

2011

Economic

43
(L) :
57 (C)

36
(L) :
63 (C)

18
(L) :
79 (C)

Social

43
(L) :
54 (C)

43
(L) :
57 (C)

-
(L) :
83 (C)

Foreign

44
(L) :
54 (C)

30
(L) :
66 (C)

30
(L) :
69 (C)

Composite

44.2
(L) : 55.8 (C)

37.2
(L) : 62.8 (C)

19.5
(L) : 80.5 (C)

Interest Group Ratings

The vote ratings by 10 special interest groups provide insight into a lawmaker’s general ideology and the degree to which he or she agrees with the group’s point of view.
Two organizations provide just one combined rating for 2011 and 2012, the two sessions of the 112th Congress. They are the ACLU and the ITIC.
About the interest groups.

The key votes show how a member of Congress voted on the major bills of the year.
N indicates a "no" vote; Y a "yes" vote. If a member voted "present" or was absent, the bill caption is not shown.
For a complete description of the bills included in key votes, see the Almanac's Guide to Usage.

About Almanac

The Almanac is a members-only database of searchable profiles compiled and adapted from the Almanac of American Politics.
Comprehensive online profiles include biographical and political summaries of elected officials, campaign expenditures, voting records,
interest-group ratings, and congressional staff look-ups. In-depth overviews of each state and house district are included as well,
along with demographic data, analysis of voting trends, and political histories.
Members: Buy the book at 25% off retail.
Order Now